“No, we’re a 5-7 team,” Herman told reporters on Monday, shortly after the poll was announced. “You are what your record says you are. We haven’t played a game yet. So, we’ll pay attention to those as we head down the stretch. But right now, it’s just a bunch of people guessing, right?”

Guessing at what Texas is supposed to be has become an annual rite of summer. Every year, prognosticators and pundits seem certain that this year, this time for sure, the Longhorns are going to get their act together.

And every year — at least every year since 2009 — they’ve been wrong.

No one is forthrightly picking Texas to win the Big 12 Conference this season. But are we safe yet to project the Longhorns into a bowl, at least? There are an awful lot of bowls.

Herman, for all his intelligence and all his self-confidence (which some identify as arrogance), can’t quite answer that one.

“We don’t know how to win really well right now,” Herman said.

Maybe Shane Buechele can help finally turn things around on the Forty Acres. He started every game as a true freshman last season, completing 60 percent of his passes for 2,958 yards with 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He was good last year, but also bad at times. He’ll certainly be better in 2017 — if he’s the starter, that is.

True freshman Sam Ehlinger has had moments of brilliance in practice, and he’s a Tom Herman recruit who came out of Austin Westlake running a system similar to Herman’s. Buechele would seem the odds-on-favorite, but don’t count out Ehlinger.

“As of today, Shane’s starting,” Herman said Monday. “Now, does that guarantee that he’ll start against Maryland? No. He’ll take the bulk of the 1s reps, but if he doesn’t take advantage of them and Sam plays better than him, then that will change. As of now, Shane’s getting the bulk of the 1 reps. Sam will continue to do that. Sam’s playing good and Shane is too. It’s a good battle, but you can tell Shane’s played 12 games of college football.”

Herman said the quarterbacks are “not dymanic” but are “good enough to win with.” Herman likes the competition and has been in no hurry to formally name one the starter.

“That’s a big deal, huh?,” Herman asked Austin media last week. “I’ve said over and over again that if we played a game tomorrow, Shane Buechele will start. We’ll get a depth chart to make it Facebook official. Is that what we’ve got to do?”

The ‘Horns bring back three starting linemen, including consensus All-American Connor Williams at left tackle. They also return wide receivers Armanti Foreman and Dorian Leonard, who combined for 817 yards and six touchdowns last season.

There are concerns at running back, where talented junior Chris Warren (366 yards in four games last year) has been unable to get healthy after missing eight games with injury, and Kyle Porter has been hurt this preseason. If those two are right, the UT backfield is strong. Not as strong as last year, when D’Onta Foreman ran for 2,028 yards and 15 touchdowns, but strong.

Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando has 10 starters back from a Texas defense that was just average last season: eighth in scoring defense (31.5 points per game), seventh in overall defense (448.2 yards per game), fifth in rushing defense (189.8 yards per game) and seventh in passing defense (258.5 yards per game). In all, 18 players who have a combined 110 career starts are back in burnt orange.

But with a new head coach, a new defensive coordinator and a new mindset, being a returning starter doesn’t ensure anyone of anything.

Texas’ Malik Jefferson (46) prepares for a play during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Iowa State, Saturday, October 15, 2016, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)

Do count on junior Malik Jefferson to finally emerge as the Big 12’s best linebacker, senior Poona Ford to be one of the league’s top defensive tackles and an experienced defensive secondary to be better.

“Our coaches have spent an inordinate amount of time getting to know and building relationships with our players,” Herman said. “This spring was very successful in terms of learning how to practice. We grew immensely as a team, and we’re continuing to grow, even more so this summer.

“I feel good that these guys are willing to do whatever we ask them to coming off the three-year stretch that this program has had. They don’t want that to be their legacy. They want to be remembered as the team and the group that turned this thing around. I think we’re well on our way.”

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Columnist John E. Hoover is co-host of “Further Review with Hoover & Rew” and can be heard every weekday on The Franchise in Tulsa from noon to 3 p.m. with co-host Lauren Rew. In Oklahoma City, catch him Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings at 10:25 and every Friday afternoon at 4:05. Listen at fm107.7 in OKC, fm107.9/am1270 in Tulsa, on The Franchise app, or click the “Listen” tab on The Franchise home page. Visit his personal page at johnehoover.com.

Hoover wrote for the Tulsa World for 24 years before joining The Franchise, where he's now co-host of "Further Review" on The Franchise Tulsa (weekdays 12-3, fm107.9/am1270) . In his time at the World, Hoover won numerous writing and reporting awards, including in 2011 National Beat Writer of the Year from the Associated Press Sports Editors for his work covering the Oklahoma Sooners. Hoover also covered Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Oral Roberts and the NFL as a beat writer. From 2012 to 2016, Hoover was the World's lead sports columnist. As a columnist, Hoover won national awards in 2012 and 2014 from the National Athletic Trainers Association for reporting on sports medicine and in 2015 won first place in sports columns from the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists. After receiving a journalism degree from East Central University, Hoover worked at newspapers in Ada, Okmulgee, Tahlequah and Waynesville, Mo. He played football at Ada High School and grew up in North Pole, Alaska. Hoover and his family live in Broken Arrow.